A Little Black Boat

The Fog Warning by Winslow Homer, 1885

by Michael Shindler (February 2022)

A little black boat at sea
In the grey-red current
Without any passengers
Tossed its bow to the wind
As if it were a key
To a bordered extent
Of mystery—messengers
between heaven and earth, twinned.

But the sea answers:
Its length is a lock
Over which prancers
Go from dock to dock.

Yet the little black boat
Kept its bow to the wind
As if it were a key
Till it couldn’t float.
And the sea grinned
With grey-red glee.

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Michael Shindler is a writer living in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in publications including The American Conservative, The American Spectator, National Review Online, New English Review, University Bookman, and Providence. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelShindler.

Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast